2f:null 30:["$","title",null,{"children":"Perspective Extra: The Thoughtful Universe | Mario Delgado | Observable"}] 35:T60a,## But is the Universe's 'thinking' limited to brain-like structures? Consider the following: * The process of thinking emerges from the brain's neural activity; thoughts have [neural correlates](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_correlate).

* [Neuroscientists](https://www.cs.princeton.edu/people/profile/sseung) are working towards quantifying the actual sequence of neural activation (patterns) (neuron A 🢂 neuron B,C,D..., ... ) that represent thought(s):

36:T551,### Thought Speed and Pattern * The fastest neuron-to-neuron activation speeds are about [120Hz (120 cycles per second)](https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-08-fastest-neurons-brain.html). * While speed is important from an [evolutionary point of view](https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztjrng8/revision/3), neuroscientists may find that 'thought' patterns are prevalent at multiple speeds. * And once those thought patterns are identified, we can determine if the patterns exist independent of human brains. * 'Thoughts' may be found in the fastest known phenomenon in the Universe; the [Quantum Vacuum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_vacuum_state):

-- [Visualizations of Quantum Chromodynamics](http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/theory/staff/leinweber/VisualQCD/Nobel/) * Or the evolution of galaxies:

* **We may find that our Universe is very thoughtful; full of thought...indeed**. Incidentally, the field of [computer-based neural networks](https://www.sas.com/en_us/insights/analytics/neural-networks.html) was founded on developing computational systems that could solve problems like the human brain. 37:T614,## The Brain vs. Quantum Vacuums The dynamics of [Quantum Physics/Mechanics](https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-quantum-physics-and-vs-quantum-mechanics/) make our [modern world](https://web.archive.org/web/20220919040044/https://thephysicsacademy.com/physics/quantum-mechanics-in-semiconductor-technology/), and [life in general](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-it-comes-to-photosynthesis-plants-perform-quantum-computation/), possible. Frank Wilczek, winner of the [2004 Nobel Prize in Physics](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2004/wilczek/facts/) for his research and discoveries in the fields of [Quantum Electrodynamics (QED)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_electrodynamics) and [Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_chromodynamics), would probably support the argument that quantum vacuums are vastly more complex phenomena than the human brain. Can the brain produce 'something' out of 'nothing'?: While very complex, the human brain does not hold a ~~candle~~ [photon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon_structure_function) to the complexity of [Quarks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark) 'surfing' through quantum vacuums. [Q.E.D.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q.E.D.) (pun intended) 38:T7a0,## More food for ***thought*** From [Wilczek's Nobel Lecture](https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/wilczek-lecture.pdf): >...Similarly, as a companion to Einstein’s famous equation ${tex`E = mc^2`} we have his second law, ${tex`m = E/c^2`}. >All this isn’t quite as silly as it may seem, because different forms of the same equation can suggest very different things. The usual way of writing the equation, ${tex`E = mc^2`}, suggests the possibility of obtaining large amounts of energy by converting small amounts of mass. >It brings to ***mind*** the possibilities of nuclear reactors, or bombs. > >Stated as ${tex`m = E/c^2`}, Einstein’s law suggests the possibility of explaining mass in terms of energy. That is a good thing to do, because in modern physics energy is a more basic concept than mass. > >Actually, Einstein’s original paper does not contain the equation ${tex`E = mc^2`}, but rather ${tex`m = E/c^2`}. > >***In fact, the title is a question***: “[Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon its Energy Content?](https://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/E_mc2/e_mc2.pdf)” > >From the beginning, Einstein was thinking about the origin of mass, not about making bombs. >**Modern QCD answers Einstein’s question with a resounding “Yes!”** > >Indeed, the mass of ordinary matter derives almost entirely from energy – the energy of massless gluons and nearly massless quarks, which are the ingredients from which protons, neutrons, and atomic nuclei are made... -- [Asymptotic Freedom: From Paradox to Paradigm](https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/wilczek-lecture.pdf)

-- [Frank Wilczek Nobel Lecture](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2004/wilczek/lecture/) 39:T861,## Final Thoughts: Ghosts in the Machinery of the Universe The abstract for the paper entitled [***Relationship between physics and electrical engineering***](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6534988) can be generalized for all physics and engineering disciplines: > The usual understanding of the relationship between ***physics*** and ***engineering*** is that ***physicists*** discover facts and laws, develop methods of measurement, determine various constants, propose and work out in detail mathematical theories and hypotheses, etc., while ***engineers*** later apply some of these valuable facts and theories to the design, construction, and operation of various practical devices and aggregates... > -- [IEEE: Relationship between physics and electrical engineering](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6534988) More succinctly: >...engineering is the application of science to the optimum conversion of the resources of nature to the uses of humankind... > -- [Britanica](https://www.britannica.com/technology/engineering) As humans, we've probably been [practicing formal engineering](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Imhotep) for about 4,000 years; or 2% of [humans' 200,000 year existence](http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/origins/homo_sapiens.php). The Universe has been in existence for [12 to 14 billion years](https://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_age.html). A [Kardashev Type III or IV civilization](https://futurism.com/the-kardashev-scale-type-i-ii-iii-iv-v-civilization) somewhere else in our Universe that is just 1% of the Universe's age older than us (120,000 years) may have engineers that have already mastered the 'universal' dynamics of Einstein's 1st and 2nd laws. This would allow them to 'hack' the process of converting matter to energy and energy to matter; like the classic science fiction [transporter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transporter_%28Star_Trek%29). **And if the 'hack' was successful, is that civilization 'surfing' the Universe's quantum vacuums along-side quarks; achieving immortality as perpetual ghosts in the machinery of the Universe?**3a:[{"id":"c7819552c10dc157e68742ab616e05302ad03dbec68ae03fa7395cc829f1ca62ed8f04550c7fd5662adf68dee6f791f2cb1ae2593d27f3fe370ac138ff49ed03","href":"https://static.observableusercontent.com/files/c7819552c10dc157e68742ab616e05302ad03dbec68ae03fa7395cc829f1ca62ed8f04550c7fd5662adf68dee6f791f2cb1ae2593d27f3fe370ac138ff49ed03","name":"QuantumChromodynamics.gif","type":"image/gif","lastModified":1635269270151.108,"size":473768},{"id":"7757216d4c1b7b36cb5d54a5b08815f43278bcfa96d9609a4acb90317d0e717a90fd3fab4c56ad5e90a3208cd150c26bae0484f96ee7008a02bda69d019536a5","href":"https://static.observableusercontent.com/files/7757216d4c1b7b36cb5d54a5b08815f43278bcfa96d9609a4acb90317d0e717a90fd3fab4c56ad5e90a3208cd150c26bae0484f96ee7008a02bda69d019536a5","name":"brain.gif","type":"image/gif","lastModified":1635264237336.706,"size":3024943}] 33:{"id":"6a1ccc8c30fe079f","slug":"perspective-extra-the-thoughtful-universe","title":"Perspective Extra: The Thoughtful Universe","thumbnail":"037b2c4f46ce353d701a0d73804cb434983037d0fc140317d36dd7382b4a350b","access_level":"public","create_time":"$D2021-10-26T16:02:54.837Z","update_time":"$D2026-03-08T21:41:21.885Z","view_time":null,"first_public_time":"$D2021-10-26T19:34:33.291Z","has_unpublished_edits":null,"fork":false,"stars":0,"starred":false,"owner":{"type":"team","id":"f57b9f8a19d28778","login":"mariodelgadosr","name":"Mario Delgado ","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/2d2982ad09c4ca9dfd6570810ae00301e0db6ef798c4f7025ea03d4325d4807d","tier":"starter_2024"},"version":157,"publish_version":null,"role":null,"authored":false,"authors":[{"type":"individual","id":"1d3988d482a8ec0f","login":"mariodelgadosr","name":"Mario Delgado ","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/2d2982ad09c4ca9dfd6570810ae00301e0db6ef798c4f7025ea03d4325d4807d","tier":null}],"members":[{"type":"individual","id":"1d3988d482a8ec0f","login":"mariodelgadosr","name":"Mario Delgado ","avatar_url":"https://avatars-next.observableusercontent.com/2d2982ad09c4ca9dfd6570810ae00301e0db6ef798c4f7025ea03d4325d4807d","tier":null,"role":"editor"}],"comments":[],"custom_thumbnail":true,"trashed":false,"lapsed":null,"subscribed":null,"forks":0,"collection":{"id":"816686969f3e06f4","slug":"observable-for-active-retirement-communities","title":"Observable for Active Retirement Communities","owner":{"id":"f57b9f8a19d28778","login":"mariodelgadosr","name":"Mario Delgado "}},"type":"notebook","body":{"title":"Perspective Extra: The Thoughtful Universe","cells":[{"id":0,"value":"# Perspective Extra: The Thoughtful Universe","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":3,"value":"## Challenging A Common Belief\n\nIs the human brain really \"the most complex object in the known universe\"?:\n>The human brain contains some 100 billion neurons, which together form a network of Internet-like complexity. Christof Koch, chief scientific officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, calls the brain \"the most complex object in the known universe,\" and he's mapping its connections in hopes of discovering the origins of consciousness. \n>\n> --[NPR Science Friday: Decoding 'the Most Complex Object in the Universe'](https://www.npr.org/2013/06/14/191614360/decoding-the-most-complex-object-in-the-universe) \n\nI ***think*** not.\n\nFirst a thought on thought itself:\n\n\n\n","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":23,"value":"## Assertion: The Universe is thinking.\n\n**Proof**: \n\n* The Universe is commonly defined as the [totality of existence](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe).\n* Within the Universe you will find at least one structure known as the [human brain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UukcdU258A).\n* In 1644 [Rene Descartes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes) used his brain to assert the now famous thought:\n \n Cogito, Ergo Sum \n -- [I think, therefore I am](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogito_ergo_sum)\n* Descartes was a part of the Universe. Ergo, the Universe has had at least 1 thought.","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":15,"value":"$35","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":39,"value":"$36","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":30,"value":"$37","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":85,"value":"$38","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"},{"id":100,"value":"$39","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"md","author":"$undefined","summary":"$undefined","output":"$undefined","database":"$undefined"}],"files":"$W3a","stdlib":"1","titling":"auto"}} 34:"$33:body"